Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
practices and the larger context for farm advisors' and growers' activities,
exploring how these groups interact and structure each other's work. By
taking a multimethod approach, my aim is to give an ethnographic account
of theoretical categories that, though linked, are not always easy to present
in a single case study.
1
As I began planning the research for this project, I met with the director
of UC Cooperative Extension in Monterey County and inquired about
spending an extended period of time with the county's farm advisors. The
Salinas Valley vegetable industry seemed like an ideal case for studying the
relationships between science and industry. As I documented in chapter
1, the vegetable industry is an important part of California's farm economy.
In addition, because the advisors in Monterey County are known for their
emphasis on applied agricultural research, I assumed they would make an
ideal case for studying issues related to scientifi c intervention and repair.
The county director and farm advising staff in Monterey County were
very receptive to my inquiry, putting very few restrictions on my access
to their work. I moved to Salinas in 1997 to begin fi eldwork with the
advisors, working with them and their staff on a daily basis. In all, I spent
a year in this initial period of research in Salinas, returning again in 1999
and 2003 to conduct follow-up research.
My fi eldwork activities varied from day to day, depending on the sched-
ule and activities of the advisors themselves; like campus-based scientists,
who must balance research, the perpetual money hunt, and education, the
farm advisors were always very busy, and it was a challenge to keep up
with their activities. They also spent a lot more time sitting in their
offi ces—making phone calls, typing papers, and preparing presentations—
than I had expected, and much of the day-to-day maintenance and moni-
toring of their research projects was performed by technicians. Thus, I
spent a lot of time talking with the technicians, and much of my fi eldwork
on fi eld trials was time I spent with them. I was also able to photograph
many aspects of fi eld trials and use the images as instruments for eliciting
responses during interviews.
2
In exchange for their involvement in my
research, I lent the advisors and their technical staff help in small ways,
working on fi eld trials and other tasks. In addition to work on fi eld trials
and research in the advisors' on-site facilities, I attended many meetings
with them, including the advisors' biweekly staff meetings, educational
